


Superman

by mulderbaby



Series: Fictober 2020 [17]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fox Mulder Angst, Hurt Dana Scully, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulderbaby/pseuds/mulderbaby
Summary: Fictober Day 25Prompt: “Give me that”
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder & Emily Sim, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Emily Sim
Series: Fictober 2020 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980989
Kudos: 33





	Superman

“Emily Scully is being picked up.”

The curious young girl pipes her head up at the sound of her name, eyes darting back and forth between her teacher and the school principal who are talking quietly in the doorway of her classroom. Judging by the serious looks on their faces, she realizes that perhaps her enthusiasm is misplaced. Her teacher motions for her to grab her things and she gets up from her seat, leaving her colored pencils on the table and going to grab her lunchbox and backpack before walking to the door.

“Emily, do you have all of your things, sweetheart?”

“Yep!” She waves her lunchbox in the air eagerly for proof, earning small smiles from both of the older women.

“Looks like you’re all set, then.”

Emily takes the principal’s hand, counting the tiles on the floor as they make their way down the hall to the front office. She doesn’t ask any questions, figuring her mother will be able to provide more answers than her principal could. She watches as her feet step off of the tile floor and onto a carpeted one, shuffling forward until they nearly step on two enormous feet, she notes, clad in black dress shoes. Puzzled, her eyes shoot upward, glimmering with renewed enthusiasm as she realizes who the absurdly large feet belong to.

“Mulder!!” She exclaims, bouncing up and down energetically, letting go of the principal’s hand and extending her small arms up toward Mulder, in hopes that he will pick her up.

“Hey, you. Are you all ready to go?” He asks, lifting her up into his arms, giving her a little smile as her arms circle his neck.

“Sure am, Mulder! Where are we going? Mulder, why are you crying?” She asks worriedly, touching a spot on his cheek where a single tear had fallen.

“How about we go get some lunch and then I’ll fill you in?” 

Her brow furrows in concern, but her stomach grumbles at the thought of food, making her giggle. “I figured you probably didn’t eat your lunch.” He chuckles softly, giving her a knowing look that makes her smile mischievously.

“How do you know that Mulder!?” He smiles at the amusement in her voice, giving the principal and secretary a wave and mouthing thank you before carrying Emily - lunchbox, backpack and all - out toward the parking lot.

“Well, somebody told me you haven’t been touching your sandwiches lately. That you only want the cookies..” He smirks, raising an eyebrow as he reaches in his pocket for his car keys.

“So not true, mister!” She insists, feigning shock that he would ever accuse her of such a thing, watching carefully as he opens the back car door on the passenger side. “Mulder can I sit in the front? Please please please?” She begs, tugging on his shirt collar.

“Yeah, not in a million years, you crazy.” He says with a bemused smile, shaking his head in disbelief that she would even try to talk him into that.

“Mulderrrr, no fair!” She pouts as he sets her down on the ground, pointing to the backseat. She narrows her eyes up at him, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

“Em, come on. We’ve really gotta get going, kiddo.” He says almost sternly, a stress in his voice which the younger version of Scully was not familiar with. She looks up at him, raising her eyebrows slightly, out of concern for this tall, dark-haired, absolute goofball of a man who she had grown so attached to. She sighs in defeat, hugging him suddenly before hopping into the booster seat and working at her seatbelt.

“Here, let me help you with that.” He says softly, reaching for the buckle and she watches him diligently.

“Mulder?” She whispers, as though worried that someone would hear her.

“What’s up? Is it too tight?”

“Don’t be sad. I like you to be happy.” She informs him, her eyes gentle as they gaze up into his own, which now are glazed over with tears. “Mommy likes you to be happy too.”

He blinks slowly, taking a deep breath before securing her seatbelt.

“Mulder… where is mommy?”

He glances back up at her, having regained his composure, at least momentarily, giving her a soft smile. “I told you, lunch first, then we’ll talk. Sound good?”

She chews her lip, nodding at him. “Sounds good, Mulder.”

“Okay.” He murmurs, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, making her smile as he closes the car door, going around to the driver’s side and starting the car, putting his own seatbelt on.

“What sounds good to eat?” He asks, looking over his shoulder as he backs out of his parking spot and pulls into the street.

“Hmm. I dunno Mulder.” She ponders for a moment, toying with her hands which rest in her lap. Suddenly, her face lights up as an idea strikes her. “Can we go to McDonalds?” She asks, a wicked grin spreading across her face that earns a chuckle from him.

“We can go anywhere you want, Em. As long as you promise me you’ll eat.” He warns, glancing at her through the rearview mirror, some of the warmth in his heart restored as he catches a glimpse of her radiant smile. A smile that was unmistakably that of a Scully woman.

“You’re the best, Mulder!”

—-

“So, Mulder. Let’s talk.” She says assertively, biting into a french fry.

“You eat first. Then we’ll talk.”

“You promise?” She raises a skeptical eyebrow at him and he can’t help but smile.

“I promise, Em.” He assures her with a wink and she smiles contently, refocusing her attention on her happy meal.

The car is quiet for a short while as she eats, keeping a watchful eye on the man in the driver’s seat. He sips his iced tea occasionally, doing his best to keep his emotions at bay. In his head, he runs through all of the worst possible scenarios.

What if she doesn’t wake up?

What am I supposed to tell Emily?

What’s going to happen to Emily?

How am I supposed to live without them?

His anxious musing does not help the situation as he feels his chest tighten agonizingly, trepidation pricking at the corners of his eyes once more as he takes another look at Emily in the backseat, blissfully unaware of her mother’s condition.

“Mulder, where are we going?”

“We’re going to see Mommy.”

“Well why didn’t she just come with you to get me from school?”

Mulder swallows hard, sucking in his lip as he attempts to blink the tears away.

What the hell am I supposed to tell her? ‘Emily, mommy got shot and she might not make it.’ or ‘Emily, some sick bastard tried to kill mommy, and now I’m going to kill him.’ Yeah, that’ll go over well.

He shakes those thoughts from his mind. It was merely an accident, he reminds himself, repeating the words Kersh had spoken to him over the phone. Yeah, some accident.

“Mulder! You’re crying again!”

The sound of her voice snaps him out of his vengeful trance, shifting his attention back to her. You owe her some answers, he tells himself. You owe her some answers, and you owe it to her to be strong. You owe it to Scully to be strong. Finally! A convincing argument from his conscience.

“Em, don’t you worry about me. Okay? I’m totally fine. Mommy is the one who needs our help.”

Her eyes gloss over with worry and he feels a wave of guilt wash over him, knowing that it isn’t his place to tell her not to cry, as much as he’d do anything to make it stop. But the younger girl seems to have a much better grip on her emotions than him.

“What happened to her, Mulder?”

He exhales, trying to find the appropriate words.

“She got hurt pretty bad, Em.” He says as calmly as he can, watching as her forehead creases with concern.

“Like someone punched her really hard?”

He chokes back a sob, battling the monsoon of his tears while trying desperately to muster up the strength to respond.

“Yeah, Em. Something like that.” He says, and the quiver in his voice is not lost on her as she sits in the backseat, in deep but silent thought.

“Mulder?” She asks softly.

“Yeah kiddo?”

“I think mommy would want me to pray for her. So I’m gonna do that, ok?”

Mulder wipes at his eyes with his shirt sleeve, rendered completely speechless by the strength of Emily’s composure, the kindness and purity in her heart.

“Okay Em. I think that’s a great idea. Say a prayer from me too, yeah?”

“You got it, Mulder.” She assures him, giving him a thumbs up, earning her a tearful smile.

“Thank you.” He says, barely a whisper, but she hears him loud and clear.

“Mulder?”

“What’s up?”

“You know mommy’s like, super strong, right?”

Something between a chuckle and a sob escapes him as he looks back at her, a hopeful twinkle in her eye that provides him with renewed faith in the world which had once seemed so relentlessly cruel.

“Your mother is the strongest person in the whole wide world, Em.”

She smiles, nodding approvingly at his response.

“She’ll be okay Mulder. I know she will.”

It is this moment in which he wonders why he ever had a doubt.

—-

Emily holds tightly onto Mulder as he carries her through the hall of the post-op recovery wing, keeping an eye out for Scully’s room number. In his free hand, he carries a bouquet of flowers which him and Emily had picked out in the hospital gift shop when they arrived.

According to the surgeon he spoke to when they made it up to the floor where Scully would be staying, she was recovering well from the operation already, but she would need lots of rest over the next two weeks and would be kept under close watch at the hospital until she was deemed fit to leave. As much as he wishes he could take her home with him right away, he couldn’t be more grateful or relieved that she was going to be okay. For her sake, for Emily’s sake, and for his own sake.

“Look Mulder! There’s mommy!” Mulder looks to his right, into the room through the window which Emily is pointing to. They peer into the window, and it’s as if Scully can sense their presence, turning her head toward them, a weak smile creeping across her face as she sees them there, the loves of her life, waving eagerly at her.

The door opens and Mulder sets Emily down, closing the door behind him before feeling a tug at his sleeve as Emily reaches for the flowers.

“Mulder! Give me that!” She says with urgency, looking up at him wide-eyed and lacking patience, making him grin as he gives her the bouquet which is almost larger than her.

“Mommy!” She exclaims happily, rushing over to her mother’s bedside and trying to climb up herself, but the bed had been raised to a height which made it difficult for her.

“Hey, easy there, kiddo.” Mulder warns, lifting her up onto the bed beside Scully, setting the flowers on the side table. “And remember what I told you, you’ve gotta be super careful when you lay with Mommy.”

“Hi my love.” Scully whispers, kissing her daughter on the forehead before looking up at Mulder, her eyes full of love and gratitude as they follow him to the other side of the bed where he now stands beside her, reaching for her hand, which she gladly gives him. She watches as his thumb nudges her own, trying to instigate one of their usual thumb wars, before looking up at him with an exhausted smile. “Too tired.” She mumbles apologetically, shaking her head, and he gives her a knowing smile, intertwining their fingers before bringing the top of her hand to his lips, leaving a lingering kiss there.

“Mulder, baby, you really didn’t have to-” She starts, but before she can continue, she feels a wave of emotion inundate her as his hot tears fall onto her skin. He doesn’t have to say a word for her to understand the fear he had been feeling, the same worry she’d experienced countless times before when she’d received calls similar to the one he’d received earlier today.

“Mommy! You should’ve seen Mulder today! He was like.. Like Superman or something!”

Scully looks at her daughter in amusement as Mulder lowers their hands back down to the bed, never loosening his grip. “Oh yeah?” She croaks, her voice straining, and Mulder uses his free hand to grab a glass of water from the nightstand, pressing it to her lips so that she didn’t have to let go of his hand. Well, more so he wouldn’t have to let go of her hand. She takes a long sip and when she is finished, he gives her a little smile, returning the cup to its original spot.

“He came and picked me up from school, and he drove suuuuper fast so we could see you. And he got me McDonald’s! And he got you allllll those pretty flowers!” Emily explains and Scully feels her heart flood with joy, glancing up at Mulder who blushes slightly, sucking in his lower lip.

“I wasn’t going that fast, Em. And I thought McDonald’s was our little secret, was it not?”

She looks at him bashfully and he grins at her, making her burst into giggles. “Told you he’s Superman, mommy! Definitely Superman, even if he cried, like, the whole time.” She snickers and Mulder blushes more fiercely now, rocking back and forth on his feet slightly as he looks off to the side, shaking his head bemusedly.

“No more McDonald’s for you, you crazy.” He scolds teasingly, giving her a warning finger.

“Noooo, Mulder! Not fair!”

Him and Scully exchange a glance before looking at her, unable to resist laughter at the way she giggles, thoroughly pleased with the reaction she had gotten out of Mulder.

“Did you take good care of him for me, Em?”

“She sure did.” Mulder chimes in before Emily can respond, squeezing Scully’s hand gently.

“Hey Em, you see that nurse out there, with the blue shirt on?”

Emily sits up and turns to the window. “Yep! Right there mommy.”

“How about you go ask her if she can take you down the game room for a little bit? Mommy needs to talk with Mulder about work stuff.”

Emily smirks, eying Mulder and her mother suspiciously. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll leave you two alone.” She says with a hint of sass in her voice, leaning into Scully for a quick kiss on the cheek before slipping out of the bed and heading out, closing the door all the way shut behind her. Mulder watches her go, and when he looks back down, Scully is gazing up at him with that look in her eye, that look he’d come to know like the back of his hand, a silent plea for the comfort only he could offer her.

“Hold me?” She murmurs, her lips forming a pout and then a smile as he slips into bed beside her, extra careful not to hurt her. She rolls fully onto her uninjured side, slipping her hand over his abdomen and around his middle, her head coming to rest against his warm chest, nuzzling him gently as he presses a kiss to her hair.

“You should know by now that you don’t have to ask.” He mumbles against the warm skin of her forehead. “But if you want me to stop.. well, that’s a different story.”

She chuckles softly, pressing a kiss against his throat and letting her lips rest against his adam’s apple for a moment. “Mulder?” She whispers, tickling his skin before lifting her head so that she can meet his eyes, which still have too much worry in them for her liking. “I’m going to be okay.” She assures him, a tenderness in her voice that he feels all the way down to his core.

His lips quirk up into a little smile which she returns with one of her own, reaching up to ruffle his hair between her slender fingers.

“Hey, Superman?” She murmurs and he smirks down at her.

“Hm?” He replies, pressing his forehead against hers lovingly.

“Kiss me.” She purrs, tilting her head up slightly so that he can press his lips against hers, firm but tender, much like the way he loves her, and prays he always will.

Eventually, when they’ve run out of breath, she breaks the kiss slowly, pulling back with a sated smile playing at her lips as they gaze at each other lovingly. She reaches up to give him one more soft kiss before tucking her head under his chin where she would proceed to fall into a deep sleep. A sleep filled not with fear or pain, but a sleep that is filled with comfort - comfort both in the fact that he was here with her, and in her realization that not all heroes wear capes after all.


End file.
